


Impressions

by twinedjupiters



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, post c2e93
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22503658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twinedjupiters/pseuds/twinedjupiters
Summary: “Caleb,” she whispers, the quiet of the barroom suddenly feeling sacred, intimate.He turns back to her, voice just as quiet as he replies, “Jester?”
Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 8
Kudos: 210





	Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> It was a slow night at work tonight so I decided to write fic. Enjoy!

The Mighty Nein’s trek back to Kamordah goes much quicker than their initial journey away from the city, even without horses. Maybe it’s because they don’t get lost this time, but Jester is pretty sure it has more to do with their mad rush to put as much distance between themselves and that creepy witch as they can. They don’t stop for the night, instead opting to press on until they reach the relative safety of civilization.

Jester is sure to take the opportunity to relay the whole tale to them, feeling more than a small swelling of pride at the looks on her friends’ faces as she tells them of her trickery. They have questions, of course, and more than a few concerns, but, generally, everyone seems to agree that she made the right call.

That’s a relief, if she’s being honest. Things had been looking so bleak -- her friends had been willing to offer up such sufferings -- and she knew she had to act fast if she was going to prevent further misery. There hadn’t been time to consult with everyone, she’d needed to make a decision and she’s glad everyone seems to think it was the right one.

By the time they make it back to Kamordah, they’re dead on their feet. Without even bothering to discuss it, they head straight for the inn, renting all three rooms once more, and heading to bed.

Beau and Yasha are both quiet, even more-so than usual, and Jester can feel it like an invisible weight pressing in on her. Finally, when she can’t take it anymore, she decides to grab her sketchbook and head for the barroom.

It’s empty at this hour so she chooses a table, lights a candle, and starts drawing. She talks to the Traveller as she does, telling him the whole tale as she sketches out grotesque harpies, swampy landscapes, and a witch with long, spindly limbs. He doesn’t make an appearance, but Jester’s sure he’s listening all the same.

After an hour or so of speaking softly to the darkness, a noise catches her attention and she looks up to see Caleb stumbling his way towards the privy, not even noticing her in his half-asleep state. Jester smiles to herself, turning to a fresh page and doing her best to copy out Caleb’s crimson bed-head and heavy-lidded eyes.

Caleb has nice eyes. Jester likes drawing them.

When she hears him emerging again, she quickly flips the page back and looks up just in time to see him step back into the barroom. Slightly more aware now, the light from her candle must catch his eye, and he gives her a look of surprise when he spots her sitting there alone.

“Have you been there the whole time?” he asks, approaching her table.

She grins up at him. “Yes. You walked right by me before.”

He looks a little sheepish, running a hand over the back of his neck. “You can’t sleep?”

Jester shrugs, her smile faltering. “It’s really tense in our room right now. I’m worried about Beau.”

Caleb sighs at that, pulling out the chair across from hers and sitting down. “She came very close to giving up everything back there.”

“That’s why I had to do it,” Jester tells him. “We can’t lose Beau.”

There’s also the not-so-little matter of the peace talks Nott had been willing to sabotage, but, as much as she wants to see an end to the conflict, if she’s being honest, Jester was much more concerned about her friend’s well-being than the war between the Empire and the Dynasty.

Caleb gives her that soft, small smile that she’s beginning to become familiar with, the one he only seems to wear when they’re alone together. “You’re a good friend,” he tells her.

She smiles back, a little embarrassed. “You’ve said that before.”

His expression doesn’t falter. “It continues to be true.”

“Thanks, Caleb,” she replies, voice soft.

They’re quiet for a moment and she watches as he glances at her open sketchbook, eyes scanning across the picture of Isharnai with blue icing covering her face.

“It was an impressive thing you did back there,” he says, eyes still on her drawing. “And I don’t just mean your use of the arcane. Though --” and here he does look at her again, leaning forward and lowering his voice, all earnestness “-- that _was_ a very impressive bit of magic.”

She grins, leaning in too and replying, “If only Essek had been there to see it.”

Caleb huffs a laugh. “We’ll have to tell him all about it when we see him next.”

Jester’s smile grows as she tries to picture the look on Essek’s face when he hears the story. “He’s going to feel so dumb for ever doubting me.”

“As he should,” Caleb agrees. “You are a very impressive person, Jester, and not just because of your magic.”

She shakes her head, embarrassed again. “Well, I don’t know about _that_.”

“It’s true,” Caleb insists. “You could have used that spell to put anything into that woman’s head. You could have threatened her, scared her into helping us, but you chose to give her friendship instead. You beat misery with kindness. It’s something you do everyday.”

Jester feels herself flush at his words, eyes dropping as she’s unable to stand the intensity in his gaze. “Thanks, Caleb,” she says again, voice no more than a murmur.

“Thank _you_ , Jester,” he replies, something in his tone making her meet his eye again. “For what you did yesterday for Nott and for Beau. And for what you do everyday for all of us.”

The corner of her mouth lifts at his words and she says, “You’re a really good friend, Caleb.”

He swallows and smiles slightly, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m glad you think so.”

It’s the closest he’ll get to accepting the compliment, she knows, and she has to resist the urge to reach across the table, squeeze his hands, and insist he believe her. Instead, they hold each other’s gaze for a long moment and, just as Jester’s beginning to wonder what’s going on in that head of his, Caleb seems to shake himself and clears his throat.

“I should get to bed,” he says, pushing himself to his feet. “I need to be ready to travel in the morning.”

“Right,” she nods, feeling something like disappointment at his departure. She’d been enjoying his company.

He holds her gaze for another moment, looking as though he wants to say something and finally deciding on a simple, “Good night.”

As he turns away, though, Jester finds herself reaching out to stop him, her fingers finding his hand and curling into his palm, halting him in his tracks.

“Caleb,” she whispers, the quiet of the barroom suddenly feeling sacred, intimate.

He turns back to her, voice just as quiet as he replies, “Jester?”

Feeling bold after her success against Isharnai, she keeps her eyes on his, their fingers still tangled together, as Jester gets to her feet and stands before him, just inches apart.

His eyes move with her, not even so much as blinking as she closes the distance between them. She hesitates here, just for a second, but when she sees his throat bob and eyes dart ever-so-quickly to her lips, she knows she has nothing to worry about.

She can’t help the soft smile that pulls at the corners of her mouth as she raises herself up on her toes, free hand wrapping around the back of Caleb’s neck, fingers tangling in his still-mussed hair, and softly brings their lips together. Caleb is tense until the moment of contact but immediately melts into the kiss, reaching up to grip her arm where it rests just above his heart.

It’s slow and sweet and chaste and Jester can feel something swelling inside her that she’d barely noticed before, this rush of affection she’s only had glimpses of when he’s made her laugh or paid her a compliment or done something particularly selfless. Now, though, it’s overwhelming and she realizes that her feelings for Caleb, perhaps, run much deeper than she’d ever dared consider.

Judging by the racing of his heart -- which she can feel as clearly as her own -- Caleb may just be having the same experience.

She pulls away after a moment, lowering herself back onto her heels before slowly opening her eyes. Caleb is already watching her, his expression somewhere between confused and awestruck.

“Why did you do that?” he breathes.

A mischievous smile curls across Jester’s face and she shrugs a shoulder. “Because I wanted to,” she answers. “Didn’t you?”

Caleb nods, eyes still wide. “I did,” he admits. “For a very long time.”

“Good,” she replies, feeling her cheeks warm again at his honesty.

She takes a half-step away from him then, finally letting her arms drop back to her sides and finding she already misses the warmth of his body pressed against hers.

“But you were going to bed,” she says, reaching for her sketchbook. “And I should, too.”

Caleb clears his throat, awkward, and nods. “Of course.”

She hugs her sketchbook to her chest and bites her lip as she looks up at him again. Raising up onto her toes once more, she plants another lingering kiss against the rough stubble of his cheek.

“Good night, Caleb,” she whispers in his ear before brushing past him towards the hallway where their rooms are.

“Good night, Jester,” he replies softly, not moving an inch as she walks away.

She turns back when she reaches the end of the room to find him still standing where she left him, eyes fixed on the little candle flame flickering away on the table. He doesn’t seem to notice her and, as she watches, his hand slowly rises, fingertips brushing against his lips, and a soft smile curls across his face.

Jester smiles, too, and heads to bed.


End file.
